Benevolent Nightmare
by tortuga23
Summary: (non-xmeny but mutant) A shapeshifter runs from an unaccepting family. During her escape, she is intercepted by Charlie, another runner. A power force is seeking powerful mutants and kidnapping them. Leech is using hte device to mooch off their powers.
1. Benevolent Nightmare

Benevolent Nightmare  
  
The house was silent. A small, lithe figure slowly descended the creaky stairs of the family's modest 3-bedroom home. The sound of soft snoring floated down the stairs after her.  
"Ariea? Is that you, babe?"  
The girl froze.  
"Yeah, Dad, I'm just getting a drink of water, I'm really thirsty," came Ariea's voice from the bottom of the stairs.  
Her father looked about confusedly for a second before he replied, "But there's a bathroom up here…" But his daughter had already disappeared into the kitchen.  
This was not unusual in the Nestle home. At least most of it wasn't. With a family of nine, things got pretty chaotic at times. But at 4:21 in the morning things usually settled down. Usually.  
"Daddy? You there?" Ariea's voice peeked out from behind the girls' bedroom door. The eight-year-old stepped out onto the landing, and her petite figure was illuminated by the crack of light coming from the bathroom.  
"Hon?" Her dad twirled around. "How'd you move so fast?"  
"What?"  
Ariea rubbed her eyes sleepily and pulled on her fuzzy pink nightgown.  
"I thought you were downstairs, Arie…"  
"Huh? I just woke up, Dad."  
Her dad reached out an arm and pulled her into his side.  
"I heard one of your sisters downstairs, then. Let me go check. Why don't you go back to bed?"  
"Sure, Dad, but it's a mess in there- you know how Arelai and Arawyn throw their stuff everywhere… I hope I don't trip!"  
Her father watched her fondly until she reached the door. Then he went down the stairs, mumbling, "I could swear it was Arie's voice- she's the youngest, it wouldn't be hard to mistake for another's…"  
He walked into the small kitchen and fumbled with the lightswitch. It flicked on with a mechanical buzz, dully lighting the wooden countertops. There was a thud from behind him, and Mr. Nestle twirled around for the second time that night.  
The door was ajar, and a dark and depressing wind was creeping its way into the kitchen. The curtains swayed in the irregular rhythm of the wind. Mr. Nestle's skin prickled with goosebumps.  
"Hello?"  
He closed the door, but not before seeing a flash as something dove into the woods.   
'I must be imagining things' he thought to himself. 'It wouldn't be the first time, with all these kids'.  
He locked the door and turned off the light. He uneasily stepped up the creaky stairs. They moaned under his weight. Would all his daughters be there?  
"Dad?" came Arelai's voice, the third oldest.  
"What are you doing out there?" came Aidan's voice from the boy's room. He was the youngest and Ariea's twin brother.  
Mr. Nestle peeked in the boys' room and counted. Two. Good.  
He then walked across the landing to the girls' room. He opened the door a crack into their slightly cluttered room. Aerhiel was sound asleep- she could sleep through anything. Arelai was sitting upright in her bed, and Arawyn and Ariea were waiting by the door.  
"What's wrong?" piped Ariea's voice.  
"Someone's missing. Who?"  
Arawyn raised a shaky hand towards Aleusia's bunk.  
"It's Leu. She's gone. I heard her go out a couple of minutes ago, but by the sound of her voice, I thought it was Ariea.  
Mr. Nestle sighed in both relief and terror. So she'd heard Ariea's voice, too. But Aleusia! What in god's name had happened to her?   
The third oldest girl and the fourth oldest in general, Aleusia had always been the middle child of sorts. But was that the reason she'd left? Was it even her? He hoped it wasn't his fault and went to wake his wife. His daughters and two sons followed him into the master bedroom. Maybe it was sleepwalking. 


	2. Midnight Escape

Benevolent Nightmare  
  
The forest was peaceful at night. More peaceful than Aleusia's life was at the moment. Technically, her whole life was in pieces, if you wanted to be that optimistic. The dark trees shaded her from the moon's harsh and dazzling glow, and Leu let herself go. Someone watching might have described it as if the stars were falling from the skies and coming to rest upon the small figure walking forlornly through the dark forest. Her eyes darkened to a color that matched the sky, and the stars seemed to be nesting in her hair. Her voice was like the wind, and the real thing seemed odd in comparison. She had always been good at impersonations.  
  
She closed her eyes, having faith that her feet would lead her properly. The stairs fell from her hair and landed on the ground with a twinkle. Her slightly curly blonde hair fell with the loss of the wind and fell at mid-back. But her eyes kept their sky blue color. She kept scolding herself, 'I can't pretend to be anyone else, anymore!'. She felt like screaming. Even in an abstract family, she still didn't belong. And she never would. She was a Mutant.  
  
To amuse herself during the walk to the next city, she imitated her family's range of voices, trying not to make herself homesick. There was Ariea's unmistakable piping tune, Aidan's more masculine replica, Aerhiel's gentle voice like wind through the trees, Arelai's reassuring tone, Arawyn's deeper, singsong pitch, and Andrew's deep, comforting voice. Then there was her mother's. It was the most reassuring thing in the world, when all six of her siblings failed. And her dad, who never really understood, but tried. His gruff voice felt out of place among everyone else's. She wondered vaguely if Mutantcy was genetic.  
  
But she had always been different. At thirteen, she had had an identity crisis, being the unusual one in the family. (and that was saying something) She had a wispy cloud tattoo along her right forearm, and stars grazed her left eye. Ash blonde hair fell in curly tendrils down to her mid-back range, and parts of it were streaked blue. She just never really fit in.  
  
Police sirens could be heard dimly from behind her, Aleusia sensed with her super-human ears. It came with a couple years practice after discovering her talent. She was a shapeshifter, and she didn't want to leave it to her family to find out. She had decided she'd leave before they knew they'd housed a Mutant in their home for thirteen years.  
  
But she could see Naomi City's dim, flickering lights in the distance. Even through the trees, she recognized their checkerboard patterns. So much more order in the real world. She almost wished she were normal.  
  
There were times where she'd almost blown it, whether by means of confiding in a sister or by messing up in front of someone else. She was practicing Arawyn's voice in the bathroom when she came and knocked on the door, asking to get in. And once she'd duplicated the sub at school, just for fun, in fifth grade. But then she disappeared with out a trace, and the real teacher walked in, along with a tardy Ms. Nestle.  
  
Leu went to a strict Catholic school, but she was long an athiest. She just couldn't believe that god had created people that way. It didn't seem fair. And if he did exist, she was mad at him. For everything.  
  
She pulled away a curtain of brush to reveal her favorite looking point- The Watcher, overlooking Naomi. She'd named it with her sisters. But someone else was there. And distracted by the noise, they'd turned around.  
  
Before Leu could help it, she was thrown backwards by some invisible force. She screamed, then quickly covered her own mouth. Laying flat on the ground with her hair splayed out behind her, she looked up confusedly at the boy leaning over her. She could tell he was about to bash her head with a rock. With superhuman speed and agility, she kicked his legs out from under him and he crumpled by her side, his chest heaving.  
  
"I did it again…" he mumbled to himself.  
  
"Did what? What was that? Wind?"  
  
He looked up at her bemusedly before hiding his smile.  
  
"Yeah. Wind."  
  
They both scrambled away from each other and rose to their feet. There was a noise from the bushes. Leu grabbed the boy's hand. An officer walked into the clearing.  
  
"Lexington! What are you doing here, you should be back with the crew, and who's this boy?"  
  
Lexington cleared his throat and grunted.  
  
"Sir, I found this boy in the area while I was scouting for the girl. I was just asking him for his name."  
  
The boy was terribly confused. He was no older than fifteen, at most.  
  
"Well?"  
  
He looked in mystified confusion at the man called Lexington grasping his wrist. Lexington squeezed, hoping the other officer wouldn't notice.  
  
"Wellll…?"  
  
"Oh. Umm… Sam. Sam Magill. I live down the street. On Haverford. By the gas station."  
  
Lexington nodded his head.  
  
"Aha. I see. And why are you out here this late, young man?"  
  
He coughed. "Hangover."  
  
The other officer rolled his eyes and smirked at Lexington. "Doesn't look drunk to me. Have fun, Bruce… I'm going to go check with the search squad. I'll tell them where you are."  
  
Bruce Lexington seemed to have a hard time recalling his own name.  
  
"Oh. Yeah. You do that. I've got this under control."  
  
"Sam" was clearly understanding now. When the other officer left the clearing he pulled his arm away from Lexington's hard grip. Lexington sighed, sensing the boy scrutinizing his appearance. He leaned against the tree and closed his eyes. Leu opened them, and hoped she'd morphed properly. She hadn't had much practice before.  
  
"Whoa."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Sweet!" He stuck out his hand. "I'm Charlie. You?"  
  
Leu grimaced. "What makes you so welcoming all of a sudden?"  
  
"Well- you're a Mutant, too."  
  
"I figured. The name's Leu. So that was telekinesis back there!"  
  
Charlie shrugged. "I guess. What do you say we get outta here? You for it?"  
  
Leu managed the first genuine smile that night, and replied, "No shit." 


End file.
